Notice2026-00658
Notice of Intended Repatriation: Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
January 15, 2026
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Brooklyn Museum intends to repatriate certain cultural items that meet the definition of unassociated funerary objects, sacred objects, and/or objects of cultural patrimony and that have a cultural affiliation with the Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 10 (Thursday, January 15, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 10 (Thursday, January 15, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1804-1805]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-00658]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N6850; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0041828; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Intended Repatriation: Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY
AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Brooklyn Museum intends to repatriate
certain cultural items that meet the definition of unassociated
funerary objects, sacred objects, and/or objects of cultural patrimony
and that have a cultural affiliation with the Indian Tribes or Native
Hawaiian organizations in this notice.
DATES: Repatriation of the cultural items in this notice may occur on
or after February 17, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Send additional, written requests for repatriation of the
cultural items in this notice to Dare Turner, Brooklyn Museum, 200
Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, NY 11238-6052, email
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#c9ada8bbace7bdbcbba7acbb89abbba6a6a2a5b0a7a4bcbaacbca4e7a6bbae"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="66020714034812131408031426041409090d0a1f080b131503130b48091401">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice is published as part of the
National Park Service's administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA.
The determinations in this notice are the sole responsibility of the
Brooklyn Museum and additional information on the determinations in
this notice, including the results of consultation, can be found in the
summary or related records. The National Park Service is not
responsible for the determinations in this notice.
Abstract of Information Available
A total of two cultural items have been requested for repatriation.
The two sacred objects/objects of cultural patrimony are masks.
In 1946, the Brooklyn Museum purchased one mask from the New York-
based Plume Trading and Sales Company. In Museum records, the mask is
documented as Seneca.
[[Page 1805]]
In 1972, the Brooklyn Museum purchased one mask from the Heye
Foundation. The mask was acquired on the Cattaraugus Reservation, New
York, by Alanson Skinner for the Heye Foundation.
There is no specific record of hazardous substances used in the
treatment of either cultural item. However, the Brooklyn Museum has
historically used pesticides containing arsenic and heavy metals on
other collections and in collection spaces.
Determinations
The Brooklyn Museum has determined that:
<bullet> The two sacred objects/objects of cultural patrimony
described in this notice are, according to the Native American
traditional knowledge of an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian
organization, specific ceremonial objects needed by a traditional
Native American religious leader for present-day adherents to practice
traditional Native American religion, and have ongoing historical,
traditional, or cultural importance central to the Native American
group, including any constituent sub-group (such as a band, clan,
lineage, ceremonial society, or other subdivision).
<bullet> There is a connection between the cultural items described
in this notice and the Seneca Nation of Indians.
Requests for Repatriation
Additional, written requests for repatriation of the cultural items
in this notice must be sent to the authorized representative identified
in this notice under ADDRESSES. Requests for repatriation may be
submitted by any lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian
organization not identified in this notice who shows, by a
preponderance of the evidence, that the requestor is a lineal
descendant or a culturally affiliated Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian
organization.
Repatriation of the cultural items in this notice to a requestor
may occur on or after February 17, 2026. If competing requests for
repatriation are received, the Brooklyn Museum must determine the most
appropriate requestor prior to repatriation. Requests for joint
repatriation of the cultural items are considered a single request and
not competing requests. The Brooklyn Museum is responsible for sending
a copy of this notice to the Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian
organizations identified in this notice and to any other consulting
parties.
(Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act,
25 U.S.C. 3004 and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.9.)
Dated: January 9, 2026.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2026-00658 Filed 1-14-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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